Roseanne Barr Claims ABC Fired Her Because She’s Jewish

Roseanne Barr recently offered up another reason why she believed the network fired her during a phone interview with ‘Jerusalem Post.’

Roseanne Barr recently offered up another reason why she believed the network fired her during a phone interview with ‘Jerusalem Post.’

Everyone – including leading lady Roseanne Barr – was shocked when news broke that ABC made the decision to pull the plug on Roseanne after the reboot had already been cleared for another season

As Yahoo Entertainment reminds us, Barr initially blamed taking Ambien and her support of POTUS Donald Trump as ABC’s reasoning for axing the series. The comedian, however, now claims to believe the reason the network decided to pull the plug is actually because she’s Jewish.

“I feel that what happened to me, a large part of it is anti-Semitism. I think it played a part — the fact that I was never allowed to explain what I meant — and what I meant was a commentary on Iran — so they purposely mischaracterized what I said and wouldn’t let me explain,” Barr explained to the Jerusalem Post during a phone interview.

“And in haste they did something unprecedented that they’ve never done to any other artist. And at the base of that I think it’s because I am the most vocal person about Israel and BDS [the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement].”

As fans of Roseanne know, ABC abruptly made the decision to pull the plug on the series in May of last year – after the series had already been renewed for another season – after Barr made a tweet about Valerie Jarrett that was perceived to be racist.

Barr, however, continues to maintain that her tweet was not intended to be racist. Moreover, she claims that she doesn’t believe it was the “racist” tweet that got her fired, but the fact that she identifies as Jewish.

"And (ABC) did it so quickly – to fire and label and slander my name. I think it had a lot to do with identifying with Israel," Barr said to the newspaper. https://t.co/dXK8BUOogJ

“What I said was mischaracterized purposely and repeatedly, so they didn’t even know what I meant, but they wanted to shape it and they did — they said it was something racial, when it was actually something political. I have never in my life done anything racist, and I think my career proves that. And they did it so quickly — to fire and label and slander my name. I think it had a lot to do with identifying with Israel,” the 66-year-old actress continued to explain.

While Yahoo Entertainment did reach out to the network for a comment regarding Barr’s claim to have been fired over her Jewish faith, ABC has yet to respond or issue any type of statement.

While ABC did pull the plug on Roseanne, the network ended up producing a spin-off called the Conners which is currently airing episodes. The spin-off series features all the original cast members minus Barr. Roseanne’s character was killed by a drug overdose and the remaining members of the family spent the first few episodes mourning her death.

While Barr is no longer a member of the cast, the memory of her character lives on in the series as the rest of the Conner family often reflects on what Roseanne would do if she were still with them as the show progresses.